In the world of startups, everything … and I mean everything … revolves around your online presence.

Even with a perfect product, investors and customers need to learn about what you do — on a platform you own. That’s why one of the first projects I tackle in my consulting engagements is getting a minimum viable website published.

Your pitch deck, your product name, your brand messaging, the perfect domain name you secured … these are all important.

But until your website is published and findable to potential investors and early adopters, your business might as well be invisible.

How to become the proud owner of a Minimum Viable Website in less than a week

New websites are less overwhelming to build if you approach them in phases — just like your product roadmap.

Step away from the scary road where you see the whole, huge website project with all its bells and whistles, and just focus on the ten feet of the path that lies just ahead of you.

What we’ll talk about here is Phase 1: The bare minimum pages you need to have in place to launch your startup’s digital front door. I call this phase your Minimum Viable Website — a concept you’re already familiar with as a founder.

I’m going to show you how to do just that in less than a week, because as a founder, you already know the value of shipping fast.

After all, why wait? Websites, like products, are endlessly editable, so don’t sweat it — get something published this week. You can A/B test and optimize later!

Make a mindset shift — from “It must be perfect before I make it live“ to “It must be live and then I’ll make it perfect.“ 

Aiming for “done” rather than “perfect” will help you build your Minimum Viable Website quickly and make it live with confidence.

Aim for early traction, not perfection

Making even a minimum viable website live can feel nerve wracking.

I know — I’ve felt those nerves myself, and have virtually held the hands of many a consulting client as they were about to hit publish for the first time.

But keep in mind …

There’s a very good chance that in the earliest days of your site going live, only your most interested investors and early adopters are actually paying attention.

In short — most people won’t see your website right away.

That’s because meaningful web traffic takes time to build.

And although not showing up in search or AI recommendations may feel frustrating, I’m going to ask you to try to see the upside of this situation.

In the beginning, when you’re first putting your site together, you can fly under the radar for a few months.

And that is a beautiful thing.

In the early days, you’ll make pivots and adjustments (all founders do). Take advantage of this time when traffic is still low to learn the basics of managing your business’s online presence.

What this article excludes from the Minimum Viable Website process

This article isn’t about the tech side of building a website. I’m not going to go into detail about what platform to use, which theme to choose, or what email provider to sign up with.

(My preferred tools are here if you’re curious.)

In this article, we’re covering the hard part of creating your website content — how to get those first pages written, built, and published.

You may wonder:

• What pages does my Minimum Viable Website need?
• What should those pages contain?
• How many pages should I have ready before I make my site live?

All this (and a little more) are below. I hope you find it helpful!

3 essential pages for your Minimum Viable Website

The three basic pages you need to prepare before you hit publish happen to be “evergreen.” That means you’ll create them once and won’t need to change them much over time.

Here’s what to focus on creating this week:

1. Your Home page (your pitch)
2. Your About page (your credibility)
3. Your Contact page (your accessibility)

I know what you’re thinking! “What about a features page?” “What about investor resources or a hiring page?” “Where’s our blog supposed to go?”

Those pages are important, and can be the next thing you tackle once you’ve made your site live.

For now, publishing the three essential pages above is going to feel daunting enough, especially when you’re already managing product development, investor relations, and a growing team.

I recommend you focus on getting those pages in place first, and then work on adding other sections to your site later.

Let’s look at each of these essential pages individually:

How to create your Home Page

Your Home page is the digital version of your elevator pitch. And that pitch should communicate — in a split second — what visitors need to know about the solution you’re building.

Your Home page should answer visitors’ most basic (and unspoken) questions:

1. What does this business do?
2. Is this solution worth my time?
3. Is the founding team credible?

Answer the essentials …

How to answer the “What does this business do?” question: Visitors arrive on your site from various channels —social channel mentions, investor referrals, or AI searches. Give them immediate confirmation they’ve found the revolutionary solution they’ve heard about by prominently displaying your startup name — and what you do — high on the page.

How to answer the “Is this solution worth my time?” question: Follow your name with a powerful value proposition, typically as a large headline at the top of the page. This headline should immediately convey the core problem you’re solving, and the transformation you deliver.

A short, effective formula goes like this (fill in the blanks between the brackets):
[Startup name] [transforms/revolutionizes/eliminates]
[painful problem] for [target market] through [unique approach]

Read: Use This 4-Step Framework to Build Powerful Marketing Messaging: Examples + Worksheet

How to answer the “Is the founding team credible?” question: The rest of the page should build conviction that your solution deserves attention and investment. Add authority-building elements that showcase your founders’ expertise and early traction.

Use this list as a guide for what to include in the trust-building section on your home page and don’t worry if you don’t have all these items yet! You can update as you grow:

• A compelling explanation of your solution and the problem it solves (150 to 300 words)
• Testimonials from early users, beta testers, or industry experts
• Founder credentials and relevant past successes
• Accelerator programs, pitch competitions, or funding announcements
• Media coverage, tech blog mentions, or industry recognition
• Early metrics that demonstrate problem-solution fit: quote data that proves your approach works

Plan to update this section regularly as you hit new milestones, close funding rounds, and gather more user success stories.

How to create your Team/About page

Don’t gloss over this page! About/Team pages are some of the most-visited pages on a startup site — investors and early adopters are innately curious about the founders and the expertise behind a new venture. No minimum viable website should be without this page.

Feature these elements (in this order):

The problem you’re solving. Start with a compelling headline about your mission and let visitors know they’ve found a team that understands their pain points.

Who your founding team is. After you’ve established the problem, introduce the founders and key team members with clear explanations of their expertise and why they’re uniquely qualified to solve this problem

Your vision and roadmap. Add brief descriptions of your current solution and hint at future developments without giving away your competitive advantage

How to create your Contact/Get Early Access page

When potential users or investors are ready to engage, they’ll want a clear path to connect with your founding team.

Warning: Don’t post the team members’ email addresses on your Contact page. Not only will you get flooded with spam, but you’ll miss the opportunity to qualify and segment incoming inquiries.

To manage inquiries efficiently, use a smart contact form that sends responses to your CRM or team inbox, with routing options for investor inquiries, partnership opportunities, and user feedback.

A 1-week plan to launch your Minimum Viable Website

I’m a big believer in applying the same iteration principles to your website that you use for your product — quick drafts, feedback loops, and decisive shipping.

Unless you’ve already hired a marketing lead (a luxury most early-stage startups don’t have), the website content may fall to you as the founder — or to a non-marketer on your team.

That means you’ll need to put these pages together quickly but effectively, leveraging feedback from your co-founders, advisors, or early users before you make them live.

Once written, use a GenAI tool to analyze the gaps on the page. It’s not as precise as a skilled human editor, but it’ll help polish your copy enough that you can feel confident publishing it.

This schedule is designed to be easy to follow — no late-night marathon editing sessions required. Remember, we’re keeping this simple and building a foundation you can add to later.

Before you start, find at least one mentor, advisor, or fellow founder with experience in your sector to review your published pages. Those first reviewers are crucial.

Monday (Day 1: Strategy)

Define your core messaging. This is a big job, but fortunately, I have resources for you. The article below, and the free “Core Messaging Blueprint” I developed will help.

Read: Use This 4-Step Framework to Build Powerful Marketing Messaging: Examples + Worksheet

You can get my Core Messaging Blueprint worksheet here.

Write your value proposition. Use this formula, which emphasizes the transformation you deliver:

[Startup name] [transforms/revolutionizes/eliminates]
[painful problem] for [target market] through [unique approach]

Compile your startup’s early validation signals: beta user testimonials, advisor endorsements, accelerator affiliations, and any early metrics worth sharing.

Tuesday (Day 2: Content Creation)

Write the first drafts of your Home, Team/About, and Contact pages.

Weave in the messaging you developed. Highlight founder-market fit, and why your team is uniquely positioned to solve this problem.

Wednesday (Day 3: Implementation)

Begin adding the page copy and brand elements to your site builder. Consider using startup-friendly platforms like HubSpot, Webflow, Squarespace, or WordPress for quick deployment.

Set up a contact form that integrates with your startup tools (Airtable, Notion, HubSpot, Google Sheets, etc.). Include options for different inquiry types: investors, potential users, and partnerships.

Thursday (Day 4: Refinement)

Soft-launch your Home page and send the link to your closest advisors and team members for rapid feedback.

Finalize your Team/About page content, including founder headshots and relevant experience that builds credibility with both users and investors.

Enable your Contact form with proper routing rules, publish the page, and test that submissions correctly reach your team inbox or CRM.

Friday (Day 5: Launch)

Finalize all pages with suggested edits. Prepare tracking tools to monitor site performance and conversion points.

Make any final adjustments based on team feedback.

Congratulations, Minimum Viable Website owner!

If you work through this schedule day by day, you’ll have a Minimum Viable Website created and published in one week — without derailing your product development timeline.

Now, start sharing your site with your network, potential users, and yes — investors.

Expect to iterate on your messaging in the coming weeks as you gather user feedback and refine your pitch.

That’s the beauty of having a digital presence — it can evolve as your business does.

Need a marketing strategy to supercharge your site?

I specialize in giving early-stage businesses a competitive advantage with marketing systems that grow with them. Learn about my marketing advisory services.